Heal Your Gut, Heal Your Brain Discussion

Glenn Gruby, LAc., MSTOM., of Functional Health and Acupuncture Institute invites you to join him for a Heal Your Gut, Heal Your Brain discussion at 10:15 a.m. on February 2 at the Cherry Hill Library.

Our brains are under attack. Anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism and cognitive decline are all on the rise. Yet, what is often overlooked by clinicians is the fact that the health of our brain and digestive tract are intertwined; what goes on in one greatly affects the function of the other. The gut is often referred to as the “second brain,” because it can produce many of the same chemical messengers as the brain. Your brain and gut are in constant communication, connected by an information highway known as the vagus nerve.

When the body is under stress, blood is diverted from the GI tract. Eventually this causes the gut wall to break down resulting in the leaky gut phenomenon. Stress also suppresses the immune system, promoting an imbalanced gut microbiome. Once this happens, the effects on the conscious brain and mental health begin to unfold.

It is much easier to interrupt a dysfunctional gut-brain connection at the level of the gut than at the level of the brain. Considering up to 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is produced in the GI tract, a healthy gut promotes a healthy brain. There are many strategies to promoting and maintaining a healthy gut wall and microbiome. Functional medicine is highly focused on nutrition because it is the largest deciding factor for the health of the microbiome. When we choose whole foods containing fiber, protein and beneficial fats, we are building a microbiome that will promote brain health.